The Erlking's Daughter
by TheRestIsRustAndStardust
Summary: Phineas and Ferb get a new babysitter. Terror, fear and German Folktales ensue.
1. Chapter 1

_**[Author's Note: I know you guys probably want me to work on my Return to Avalon fic, but due to lack of inspiration and me getting annoyed as hell with trying to establish a credible mythos without gaping plot holes, I have decided to put it on the back burner for the time being. Instead, I give you a tale of shock, terror, poetry, Creepypasta, bad babysitters and -GASP- German Folklore! Sit back and enjoy. -Kaylee]**_

"But mom! Jenny, Stacy and I've been planning this sleepover all month!" Candace shut the refrigerator door behind her, frowning angrily as she popped open her can of soda.

Linda Flynn-Fletcher, her mother, continued moving around. "I'm sorry Candace, but this trip came up at the last minute and we couldn't possibly find anybody to watch the boys on such short notice!"

Candace humphed sarcastically. "You could let them stay home alone. If they can build a beach in the backyard, I'm sure they could handle not burning the house down for one lousy weekend."

"Candace, don't start with me again." Linda sat down next to her daughter. "For one thing, they're nine years old. I don't doubt that Phineas and Ferb are responsible boys, but it just isn't safe to leave them all alone. And for another thing, you still haven't shown me any proof that they ever DID build a beach in the yard. Or anything else you've claimed this summer."

The teen tapped the side of her head, thinking. "Wait a minute...You guys are leaving tonight, right? And you have to spend the day getting ready? What if...I could find them a babysitter! Totally! Mom, if I could do that, could I still go to Jenny's, please please please?" Candace did her best "puppy dog pout".

Linda sighed, feeling that she should at least let Candace try. "Oh, alright. But I want them to have references, and mannequins don't count as sitters!"

"YES! Thank you mom, thank you!" Candace hugged her mother tightly, getting a little smile, before the teen dashed outside in a blur. She decided to cross through the yard, stopping at the old tree to try and get a bit of an opinion out of her two brothers. "Hey boys?," she asked sweetly, trying to get them to take the bait. "You know how I'm usually in charge when mom and dad have to go on trips like this?"

Phineas nodded. "Yeah...but only if a satellite crashes into the house, right?"

Her voice took on a sharper tone. "That's beside the point." She changed her tone back to the saccharine slickness it was before. "Well, I was wondering; how would you guys feel about someone else being in charge this weekend? Like, a new babysitter maybe? It could be an adventure! And I know you like meeting new people."

Phineas smiled obliviously."Yeah. Yeah, we do like meeting new people. And we LOVE adventure"

Candace grinned happily. "Great! Do you think you would mind maybe helping me look around for someone to stay here by tonight?"

The boys shrugged. "Sure. Ferb! I know what we're gonna do today!"

A few hours later, Candace scanned available ads for sitters around the neighborhood, mostly teenage girls and the occasional old lady, with the creepy old guy thrown in every so often. The young woman sighed unhappily. "It's no use! I'll never find another person to watch the boys and I'll be stuck at home instead of at Jenny's! We were going to do our nails and watch movies and stuff! Together!" In the middle of her rambling, something at the very edge of the paper caught her eye; an ad for an available sitter! _Available; Reliable sitter Edie Dewitt, Danville local of German origin. Knows CPR, First Aid and Trained to handle any situation. Has references, call 555-4592. _Candace squealed happily. "She sounds perfect! MOM! I FOUND A SITTER FOR THE WEEKEND!"

Later that day, a willowy young woman stood in the family kitchen, listing her qualifications and showing her references. "Now, Mrs. Flynn-Fletcher, I can assure you that everything will be fine. If you need my number, I have it available and you can call whenever you feel you need to." The girl's voice was deep, German and raspy, but feminine and reassuring somehow. It was as if when you heard her, everything would be alright. Of course you could trust Edie Dewitt, despite her peculiar appearance. The girl's eyes were the color of Mountain Dew and had curvy pupils like a cat's. She had long, long brown dreadlocks, starting from the very top of her widow's peak and reaching down almost to her knees. Her skin seemed as if it had never seen the sun, and a gold, almost microscopic Scarab beetle stud clung to her left nostril. Edie's jeans were ripped and her dark purple overcoat was too hot for the weather outside. And yet despite all of this, she smiled warmly and appeared welcoming and sweet.

Linda smiled. "Well, I must say, you have outstanding recommendations, and you **are** CPR Certified. At first I wasn't sure, but... Ms. Dewitt, you're hired."

Edie smiled knowingly. "Thank you, ma'am. And please, you may call me Edie. I hope you have a wonderful trip."

"We certainly will." Linda hugged and kissed her kids goodbye. "I'll miss you guys. Be good for Edie, okay? Listen to her. And Candace, have fun at your sleepover!"

"I will mom!" Candace rushed out the door before anything else could be said.

Phineas and Ferb nodded their agreement to the conditions of their mother, hugging her goodbye as she left. When the door closed, Edie put her coat on the rack and sat down. "You boys go ahead and play, I won't bother you.

The next few hours in the house were odd to say the least. The boys pretty much carried on as normal, planning for the next day and playing outside, and Edie watched them. Something seemed a bit off, though. She watched them, but not as an adult watches over a child. More the way a scientist does a lab rat. They ordered pizza that night, but Edie didn't touch any of it. In fact, it seemed to disgust her. The boys knew it was freaky, but they decided not to press the matter. She could have a food allergy or something and maybe not be comfortable sharing it with anyone.

As it got darker, the new sitter seemed to be getting more and more restless. She watched what the boys were doing, of course, but she was noticeably more fidgety and high-strung. Phineas and Ferb were getting creeped out. Phin went up to Edie at around nine o'clock, smiling nervously. "Well, Edie, we had a lot of fun so far, but right now we have to get to bed. Goodnight!"

As he turned around to go upstairs, Edie stopped him. "Wait!" She smiled sweetly and yet unsettlingly. "If you boys go get ready for bed, I'll meet you upstairs in ten minutes. I have a kind of surprise for you."

He froze; what else could he say? She was in charge. "S-Sure..."

Edie's face seemed to flash to something different for a split second before it changed back to an unreadable expression.

As the boys lay in bed, Edie sat down on the floor, brown tendrils of hair swirling to the floor like seaweed. She held a flashlight to her face, making her bright green eyes appear yellow and catlike. Her raspy German accent highlighted the disturbed elation in her voice. "Submitted for the approval of you boys, I have a little story to read. My father taught it to me when I was a little one, it being an important legend to our family." Her already wide bow-mouth stretched out even further into a twisted, swallow-you-whole grin. "This poem is entitled, _The Erlking._"


	2. Chapter 2

_**[A/N: And now, for the exciting second chapter! Also, to clear the air and since I've not said it, I do NOT own Phineas and Ferb. They are © Dan and Jeff. The Poem "The Erlking" is © **__**Johann Wolfgang von Goethe**__**, an excellent poet whom I highly recommend. Also, if you can guess which movie Candace, Stacey and Jenny are watching, I'll give you a shoutout next chapter! Enjoy! -Kaylee]**_

Edie moved the flashlight to between her knees, freeing her snakelike fingers to writhe in rhythm with her as she read;

"_Who rides there so late through the night dark and drear?  
The father it is, with his infant so dear;  
He holdeth the boy tightly clasp'd in his arm,  
He holdeth him safely, he keepeth him warm._

"_My son, wherefore seek'st thou thy face thus to hide?"_  
_"Look, father, the Erl King is close by our side!_  
_Dost see not the Erl King, with crown and with train?"_  
_"My son, 'tis the mist rising over the plain."_

_"Oh, come, thou dear infant! oh come thou with me!_  
_For many a game I will play there with thee;_  
_On my beach, lovely flowers their blossoms unfold,_  
_My mother shall grace thee with garments of gold."_

_"My father, my father, and dost thou not hear_  
_The words that the Erl King now breathes in mine ear?"_  
_"Be calm, dearest child, thy fancy deceives;_  
_the wind is sighing through withering leaves."_

_"Wilt go, then, dear infant, wilt go with me there?_  
_My daughters shall tend thee with sisterly care_  
_My daughters by night on the dance floor you lead,_  
_They'll cradle and rock thee, and sing thee to sleep."_

_"My father, my father, and dost thou not see,_  
_How the Erl King is showing his daughters to me?"_  
_"My darling, my darling, I see it alright,_  
_'Tis the aged grey willows deceiving thy sight."_

_"I love thee, I'm charm'd by thy beauty, dear boy!_  
_And if thou aren't willing, then force I'll employ."_  
_"My father, my father, he seizes me fast,_  
_For sorely the Erl King has hurt me at last."_

_The father now gallops, with terror half wild,_  
_He holds in his arms the shuddering child;_  
_He reaches his farmstead with toil and dread,—_  
_The child in his arms lies motionless, dead."_

When the poem was finished, Edie flipped the flashlight back up to her leering jack o'lantern face, now absolutely gleeful. "Was that not absolutely thrilling?" Her voice was shrill, giggly and still absolutely German. "The ending always threw me into a fit as a youngling."

Phineas said, voice frozen, "I can see why." He tried to hide the hint of terror in his voice.

Edie smirked. "I know; father says that it took HOURS before I stopped laughing about it!" She saw, to her pleasure, that both boys had shuddered violently at the sociopathic implications of her statement. The young woman flicked off the flashlight and allowed it to roll to the floor. The sadism in her voice was clear as she rose and walked out. "Goodni-ight!~" The door slammed, leaving them both in darkness.

Phineas lay on his back, staring at the ceiling. "Man, Ferb, what a creepy sitter!" He flopped over, frowning. "Maybe she isn't really this bad. Do you think maybe she's shy? Maybe she has a social problem and she just WANTS us to back off, so we don't ask her questions?"

There was silence from Ferb's side of the room. Phineas's voice rose an octave, holding just a trace of terror. "You...you don't think the Erlking really _exists..._do you?"

A clap of thunder from outside sent him jumping straight into the other boy's bed. "I-It was j-just thunder! Nothing to be scared of!" He was mostly trying to reassure himself. The lightning stabbing through the sky revealed Ferb to be equally scared as Phineas, shaking and biting his lip. "It'll be okay, bro. I'll just turn on the light and we'll wait out the storm. The Erlking's just a dumb poem. Well, a GOOD poem, but you know what I-"

Another burst of thunder sent him running toward the switch. As the warm glow of flourescent lighting clicked on, Phin sighed in relief. "That's better..."

The lightbulb, as well as the alarm clock and the fan, flicked off as soon as he said that. "Now the power's out...We're totally dead, aren't we Ferb?"

"Yes...yes we are."

Across town, a red-headed teenager in her pajamas paced the floor nervously. "I dunno, Jenny...Something doesn't feel right at all. Call it intuition..."

Stacey frowned. "I would call it paranoia."

Candace scowled, finishing her statement. "I'm worried about my brothers. Something feels off somehow!"

Jenny, her hippie friend, smiled gently. "I'm sure they're fine, Candace. Besides, it's just this weather that has you in such a down mood. I have some candles that'll help with that."

Candace put her head in her hands, frowning. "Well...If you say so, Jenny...But if I find some reason to think that something's else is wrong, I'm goin' over there!"

"Alright, alright, now quiet! The movie's starting!" Stacey shoved Candace down onto the couch at Jenny's house just as a very bad CGI Owl appeared onscreen. "Jennifer Connely and David Bowie are SO cute together!"

Back at the house, Phineas and Ferb were fumbling around in their room for the flashlight that Edie had let lay, hoping for some light source. "Ah-ha!" Phineas clicked on the switch and let the beam drift about the room. "See? No Erlking." He smirked at his brother. "And you were worried." Ferb gave him a very sarcastic look. "One of us should go see if Edie's okay. The power went out and she doesn't know where the candles are, I bet."

Phineas smiled, giving Ferb the puppy face. He gasped, annoyed a bit. "I'll go." He grasped the flashlight and opened the door, pushing past their pet Platypus, Perry on the way out. The rest of the house was pitch black, of course, but with the little bulb he was at least able to get by without breaking a bone. It seemed dead quiet, too, except...

His eyes and ears were caught by something in the livingroom; from near the front door, a soft green glow eminated like a very large firefly. A soft voice was coming from it. As he stepped forward to investigate, Ferb heard the words more clearly and saw where it came from.

"...Come little children, I'll take thee away. Into a land of, enchant-ment...Come little children, the time's come to play...Here in my garden of shadows..." From a soft pink pair of bud-shaped lips, Edie sang the words to a poem by Edgar Allen Poe. Edie was singing, and yet, it was not Edie! Her eyes had gone from pale green to glowing yellow, her pupils now dark slits. Her hair had become sentient, writhing snakes and ger odd outfit had melted into a dark, sheetlike robe that swirled to her dainty feet.

Without hesiation, the little green-haired boy stepped forward, taking the hand of the Erlking's daughter and went off into the night.


	3. Chapter 3

_**[A/N: Not much to say, really. Chapter Three, in which feelings are hurt, fears are exploited by demons and the limits of friendship and brotherly love are tested. Enjoy.]**_

After ten minutes of agonizing uncertainty, Phineas decided to brave the darkness of the house and look for his brother. The boy's voice whispered in a high, cracked pitch, "H-He probably just couldn't remember where mom puts the spare flashlights..." With that thought still in his head, Phin went to the kitchen counter and got out a small green keychain light. "Not great, but it'll do."

Outside, the storm was raging, as if Mother Nature was hurling all of her anger at Danville for some bitter betrayal. Phineas tiptoed trying his best not to make any loud noises. "Ferb...", he whispered in a harsh tone. "Where are you?"

Something moved in the living room. "Seriously, are you okay or not?" He aimed his flashlight toward the sound, hoping to find his brother, Edie or at least Perry. Phineas Flynn was an incredibly hard man-er, boy-to scare, but this night had become incredibly taxing on his mind; the combination of lack of sight, an overdose of sound, and the racing of his own active imagination had created a deadly cocktail of terror that swelled within him like air in a balloon. The sound of something moving in another room jolted him out of his panicked state. He held a shaky hand to the source of the noise. "Edie...? Ferb?"

His voice went up an octave in relieved excitement. "Ferb! There you are. I was totally freaked out when you didn't come back! Where did you go, anyway? ...Ferb?"

Indeed, there stood Phineas's adored brother, and yet...

Although Phineas could not quite peg it, he had a feeling that something wasn't right with his brother. He wore a sinister leer and eyes that could only be described as having the same feeling as looking into your own demise. Ferb spoke. "Hello there, dear brother. Fancy seeing you here, especially after you left me to fend for myself in the dark." Phineas frowned, now feeling stung by his comment. It was so unlike his Ferb to talk to him that way, even if he was just messing around. "Oh, what now, cat got your tongue little Phineas? Or are you just shocked that I finally had the gall to stand up for myself?"

"F-Ferb?" Phineas whimpered, stung by the comment. His brother, his best friend and the person he had always looked up to secretly was now blasting him. He sounded so, so...bitter.

"Oh, don't try to whinge your way unto my good side!", the boy snapped. "If you think that I ever once cared for you or anyone else in this insipid, greeting-card neighborhood, you are sorely mistaken!" The boy spit on the ground. "To put it quite simply, you pointy headed freak, I never want to see you again. I've made my mind up to stay with Vanessa until I'm eighteen and then I'm out of this pithole town forever."

Phineas glared, gritting his teeth. That's when he saw it; there was no shadow. Phineas had his flashlight at his brother's feet and yet they cast no shadow. That, and Ferb, even when he was mad as all get out, would _never _be so disrespectful. The redhead stared straight into "Ferb's" eyes. "You're not my brother."

The imposter smirked. "Glad to see we have the same opinion."

Phin shook his head. "No, that's not what I mean. The real Ferb would never talk to me that way! Heck, he probably wouldn't even talk! He's met his quota for the day. You're a fake!"

"A fake, am I?" The mirage of his brother giggled, voice becoming an all-too-familiar German rasp. "I knew from the start that you were the clever one!"

Phineas gasped. "_**Edie!**_"

The girl, now back in her natural, monstrous form chuckled deeply. "You were maybe expecting the Easter Bunny?"

Phin gripped his flashlight, lips tight and eyes trained on the horrific sight before him. "How did you-? Why _would _you-?" His eyes went wide as something inside of his brain clicked. "That story you told earlier! That has something to do with this!" Another thing, more awful, clicked inside his head. "What have you done with Ferb? Tell me!"

Edie floated forward. "Poor foolish child, you are right; I told you my daddy's poem to summon him."

"Your _**daddy?**_" Phineas gasped. "The Erlking is your father!"

"That is what E. D stands for, stupid! People began calling me Edie after butchering my name." The unholy young woman drew her face closer to his, snakes in her hair nipping after the boy. "As for your brother...he is enjoying my daddy's hospitality, along with a few others. Father finds fear to be the most sustaining delicacy of all. Your cherished sibling will be worth a few years worth of terror before he goes completely out of his head and we have to toss him back. I'm sorry if he won't act like himself, but then again, few people rarely do once their frail spirits have been crushed."

You could almost hear something inside Phineas break into two; his eyes narrowed and his teeth clenched, a growl escaping his lips, rising in volume until it became a full-fledged yell. He leapt at the evil young woman, who in turn flipped him over like a ninja. He went at her again, this time with flashlight trained carefully at her eyes to try and distract her. What happened next was very odd; Edie screeched as if she had been hit with pepper spray instead of a very small light. "AAAAAHHHH! GET THAT WRETCHED THING **AWAY **FROM ME!"

Phin smirked, now knowing what to use against her. Edie continued to flip out until she managed to kick the light away, hissing like one of the snakes in her hair and whispering an ominous threat. "I'll be back for you later!" With that, she vanished.


	4. Chapter 4

Just as Sarah's lips uttered the famous phrase; "you have no power over me", Candace Flynn let out a violent shudder. "D...OKAY! That is it!"

As the irrational teenager jumped from the couch, her best friend, Stacy Hirano, gave her the glare of a lifetime. "Candace! What is your problem?"

Candace looked up from digging around in her overnight bag at Stacy, face distorted into an annoyed, worried expression. "This isn't simple busting instinct, Stacy! I really feel like my brothers are in trouble!"

Stacy frowned, starting to sway to her friend's opinion. "Well...What are you looking for anyway?"

"What I usually use to sniff out trouble, my cell pho-OH MY GAWSH!" Candace screamed, voice drowned out by thunder. "My cell phone isn't in my bag!"

Back at home, Phineas gathered up all the candles, flashlights, matches and anything creating light that he could think of. "Gotta get him back...I need more help!" As he scoured the house, something small and blinking caught his attention. "Candace's cell phone?" He hummed, thinking. "She never leaves this behind! Well, I guess serendipity is what it is." He began dialing a familiar number and waited, praying it would ring and pick up.

"Hello?" A small, weary feminine voice was on the other line.

"Isabella! Thank gosh you picked up. This is important!"

Isabella Garcia-Shapiro listened. "Phineas, as much as I'd love to help, it's three AM. Can't it wait until morning?"

"No, no it can't! Isabella, Ferb's been taken! By the Erlking's Daughter! Who was _supposed _to be babysitting us, but we're not babies and we don't need to be sat, but that's beside the point!"

Isabella blinked. "Maybe you better let me in on the whole story."

With a sigh, Phineas began explaining every sordid detail, from Candace's being upset, to the strange way that their parents blindly trusted her, to the watching, to the creepy story and the storm to his brother;s disappearance, and them from him seeing his worst fear up until this point. "And if I don't get him back, he'll have to live his fears until he's completely insane!"

Isabella almost dropped the phone. "Oh...my God...Hang on, Phineas, I'll be right over!" Within a matter of minutes, Isabella was standing inside the Flynn-Fletcher house in a pair of soaking wet pajamas and wielding a flashlight, night stick and the Fireside Girl's handbook. "I'm here, Phineas! I took the time to look through my Fireside Girl's Handbook and found something interesting."

Phin handed her a towel, hanging off the edge of his seat. "What? What?"

"Well, it says here in the German Folklore section of the book that the Erlking, or Der Erlkonig, is akin to the French boogeyman in many ways, including his supposed domain in a bog dimension. It's said that he is a shadow and grows the more you fear him and his daughter and their illusions."

Phineas shuddered. "What I saw was REALLY scary."

"Exactly! They can see into your head and not only figure out your worst fear, but even control people and entice them to do their bidding!"

"Of course! That's why mom and dad hired her so fast!"

"Exactly." Isabella continued, "And there are two ways to stop them; they fear the light, as you already know. But the only permanent way to beat the boogeyman and his daughter is to overcome their illusions. They can fake what scares you, but it's just that; a fake. Nothing they can do is ever or will ever be real."

"So it's literally all in our heads?" Phineas grew serious and determined. "Isabella, you know what we have to do." The girl nodded. "She said she would come for me later. I don't want to wait, but I may have to. I won't put up a fight, but don't stop me."

Isabella made a sound of curiosity. "What the heck are you talking about, Phineas?"

The boy smirked, determinedly. "You'll see."

_In the shadow lands, the Erlking's domain of nightmare..._

A certain feisty green-haired young lad squirmed in the grip of another certain young harpy. Her deep voice, cooed sadistically, "Now, now, little mishkin, there is no need to fight back so hard. It will do you no good." The boy snarled, managing to elbow Edie hard in the ribs. "_Oh! You little brat!_" Her voice grew into a snakelike hiss, fading back into its regular sound. "I should not have such a cruel temper. Especially when I can make you pay for that without laying a hand on you." Edie picked up Ferb by the collar, extending an elongated, sparkly black talon from her left hand. With an ominous glow around it, she slashed-cutting into his very mind itself, inducing a very real, very vivid hallucination. With his eyelids half closed, pupils dilated, and mouth slightly slack, Ferb began to see his worst fear...

_The boy awoke on a bed of soft green grass, suddenly aware that he was not in his own bed, or even his own home! When he tried to make some move of protest, the sickening realization came to him that he was unable to move, cry out or seek any form of assistance; Ferb was stuck, vulnerable as a turtle on its back and nobody was around to help him._

_After what seemed like hours, the boy heard movements in the grassy knolls, familiar voices and footsteps. He saw, at an uncomfortable angle, his brother and Isabella walking by, talking about him. "I haven't seen him all day, Isabella."_

"_Isabella" scoffed. "Count your blessings, Phineas! That brother of yours is a total drip. Honestly, I can't see why a cool guy like you would hang around someone who only speaks once an episode."_

_Ferb, were he able to move his mouth at all, would have let out a whimper. "Phineas" shrugged. "You know what? You're right. Who needs a loser like that? I mean, I could do all of this myself if I felt like it, it's just a lot funnier to watch _him _run around like an ant."_

_Isabella giggled. "OMG! That is SO funny!" She flipped her hair. "And besides, he wasn't much fun after what happened with that Vanessa girl, anyway."_

Vanessa? _Ferb's already shattered heart froze as through the meadow, a tall, shapely brunette dressed all in black walked hand in hand...with Irving._

_As the people he thought he loved and thought that he trusted moved away without even looking back at him, the meadow grew cloudy and cold. He would have shivered, but yet again, felt like a breathing statue. Wolves and hounds howled in the distance. As he closed his eyes and felt himself breaking inside, a pair of cold hands scooped him up, cooing in a spidery tone. As his eyes flew upward, Ferb stared into the black eyes of a woman with cobwebs for hair, and a man with elven ears and a white mane. Cobweb cooed. "Don't worry, little one. You'll still always have us."_


	5. Chapter 5

_**[Author's Note: Thank you for all of your overwhelmingly positive responses! You people are the best. ^-^ On that note, someone asked me where all of the German folklore came from. Well, as of late, I have become obsessed with faeries and faerie stories alike, including and especially ones about the "Unseelie", or unblessed faeries. I stumbled across a poem called the Erlking's Daughter and sort of dug around the subject from there. Anywho, here you go. THIS IS THE END, PEOPLE! Sorry if it sucks. I mean, it IS two AM...Enjoy! -Kaylee]**_

The red-headed boy tapped his nails impatiently, waiting for the Erlking's Daughter to make her return. Her sinister words, "_I'll come for you later,_" still rang in his ears like a demonic bell. Isabella frowned, squirming in her seat. "Is there any way that we can _make _her come to us? A spell or something?"

Phineas hummed, considering loading a potentially dangerous weapon, metaphorically speaking. "Ed-the Erlking's Daughter-used a poem to raise her father. Could we use one to summon her, too? If we bring her out onto our element, we can leave her helpless."

Isabella brightened. "That's a great idea, Phineas! But wait, will it work TWICE?"

Phineas shrugged, turning serious. "We have to try."

Word for word, thanks to an astounding photographic memory, Phineas recited the horrific tale of the Erlking and his conquest of destroying the little boy. Isabella's eyes were wide with absolute horror. "My...God."

Phineas looked about rapidly, half-expecting her to fall out of the sky and attack him. "Did it work?"

Isabella frowned, shaking her head. Phineas grunted, annoyed. "Just great! How else am I gonna get her? Should I ask, or build a portal to the bog dimension, or-or-?"

"Phineas...?" Isabella took on a meek tone.

Phineas continued to rattle off ideas. "I could create some sort of magical creature vacuum or a jar of anti-faerie peanut butter..."

"PHINEAS! FOR GOD'S SAKE LOOK BEHIND YOU!" Phineas turned around, and saw, in a brief flash of lightning, a rail-thin, gangly shadow, looming eight feet in the air, wearing a faceless mask and crown...

...The Erlking had appeared. In a voice that sounded like the rustling of leaves and a thousand squeaking rats, he spoke. "_Who dares disturb the Erlking's feeding?_"

The ginger-haired boy stood firm. "I do. My name is Phineas Flynn and your daughter stole my brother tonight. I want him back."

The Erlking chuckled, sounding like a storm. "_You are indeed a fool if you believe yourself able to control me._" His form blew in a nonexistent breeze. _"Indeed, the boy's fear centered around you, pathetic scrap of human flesh. I cannot see why such a wispy little brat's opinion could matter so dearly."_

Inside, Phineas smiled; he KNEW his brother would never grow to resent him. Their bond was as strong as ever. Heaven nor Hell, Erlking nor Daughter, could ever destroy the brotherly connection that they had. The Erlking spoke again._"I grow weary of this encounter. I bid you goodnight, and, heh heh...pleasant dreams..."_

As the Erlking turned, beginning to fold into himself and disappear, Phineas did a thing both brave and foolish; he grabbed the back of his cloak and held for dear life. "Phineas!" Isabella, as fast as lightning, tried to grab a hold as well, but it was too late.

This was a battle for Phineas to face alone.

When they popped out of the darkness, the Erlking hissed with rage, tossing the much-smaller boy against a tree. "_You! I grow weary of your antics, child!"_

Phineas popped out something from his backpack. "I'm just getting started."

The Erlking laughed. _"Weapons cannot hurt me, little one. Try again."_

"I don't need a weapon." With a cockeyed grin, he flicked on what he had been holding-a bulky yellow flashlight. The shadow creature screeched like a coyote in a bear trap, writhing in pain as he darted out of sight from the beam.

The Erlking's dimension was terrible; the sky was hazy and red, with little twists of dirty cotton cloud filling the skies with their dull, ominous color. Demonic bullfrog sounds echoed from hollow, dead tree to hollow, dead tree whose shapes were disfigured and twisted as monsters. The bog water was foul-smelling and stagnant, full of blowflies and maggots, as well as floating shapes that the boy prayed were not alive, or worse, dead. A low sound emanated from a dead tree that was large as a redwood and hollow as a building, a sound almost like...laughter? Phineas recognized the voice and met it with spite. Edie was no doubt having a laugh at his and his brother's expense, mocking the fact that she had torn away all that he held dear. Phineas was not a vengeful person, but when she messed with his family, it was then she had to pay.

Peering into the towering hollow tree, Phineas saw something sickening; his brother, clinging to a root for dear life, swaying and wearing the expression of one who had been hypnotized, drugged or perhaps worse. And, as he had suspected, there was Edie, laughing it up. The child who formerly radiated innocence growled in anger, calculating how much light he could fill the tree with, without disturbing Ferb in the process. "_And if I carry the one, subtract the two, angle of the trajectory...Why am I doing math for this? I'll just use the smaller flashlight."_ Phineas flicked on his pocket flashlight, after having climbed the tree five feet and aiming it into a hole. Edie recoiled from the light, whining like an injured puppy.

"Who brought a light into my room?", she yelled, sounding all the world like an angry teenager.

Phineas hopped down, leaning in the doorway. "That would be me."

"You?" Edie snorted. "This is MY domain, is it not? What power do YOU have here?"

"I know how to beat you. Now just let me have my brother and we'll be on our way."

The Erlking's monstrous Daughter mulled it over. "I could do that...or I could do _THIS!_" With the same glittery black talon she had used before, the cruel woman burst open his fears and forced him to see his worst nightmare.

"No...No!" Phineas strained to force away the delusion. "It isn't real! I already know that!" He couldn't bear not having the two of them in his life, the unspoken intelligence of a brother he secretly admired and the natural charisma of the girl next door...But he knew that he had to fight it. Fumbling in his bag through the vivid hallucination, Phineas felt around, groping through the pack trying to find...yes! It was in there! It was a bit dusty when he had found the old thing, but it was useable and simply perfect at the moment. Turning the knob on the kerosene lantern, Phineas allowed the flames to grow before he took his incapacitated sibling's hand and threw it to the floor, running as fast as they both could.

Edie screamed as the light tore away her body. As if it were sugar being splashed with water, the horrific vision melted. The entire dimension seemed to be melting away, in fact, dripping and oozing as the scenery melted into the family's living room.

For awhile, both boys and girl from across the street spoke nothing of what had happened, until the redhead said, in a firm whisper, "I knew you would never really say that about me."

Ferb grinned slightly. "Nor did I."

Isabella grabbed them both into a hug, squeezing tightly until a familiar sound disturbed the placidity of the moment.

_SLAM! _"Phineas! Ferb! What's going on here?" Candace stood overhead, looking down in worry and disapproval. "Why is Isabella here at 5 AM? And why do you two smell like a bog? And WHERE is the babysitter?"

Phineas and Ferb looked at each other a moment, frowning at the night's recollection. Phin, in an attempt to save face, merely forced a grin and replied, "It's a long story, sis. And it starts with a German folktale."


End file.
